Animals Are Early Martyrs in Toxic Train Wrecks
On February 3 a freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, necessitating the evacuation of many of the small town’s 4700 residents. Following a “controlled burn” of toxic fumes to neutralize the burning cargo that fouled local air and water, there were no reported casualties, yet.
No human casualties anyway, but nonhuman animals in the area have not escaped unscathed. Cats have fallen ill, with at least one euthanized; chickens have died in their coops; a dead possum was found in a creek with no apparent injuries; a hawk dropped dead in a pasture; and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources this week said they had counted about 3,500 dead fish in four nearby waterways.
Taylor Holzer, an East Palestine resident who rescues foxes, told Newsweek all four of his animals had fallen sick, and one didn’t make it. “He went downhill very fast," Holzer said, noting the fox’s difficulty breathing. “He crashed so fast and unexpectedly. He wasn't able to blink or function properly as he died in my arms.”
It will take time to confirm that the animal deaths were caused by the toxic fumes released in the air and waterways, but there really isn’t any other credible explanation. Some of those toxins – such as vinyl chloride – are known carcinogens that might not manifest as cancers (in humans) for many years.
We should probably think of the early martyrs to the disaster as canaries in the coal mine.
Photo credit: The U.S. Sun / AP and Gene J. Puskar / AP
